Umbria · Terni
Allerona
A stone borgo between the Paglia valley and the Valdichiana, an Orvieto outpost whose Monaldeschi castle fell to Charles V.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 21 min from Perugia
- Population
- 1,688
Known for
MONALDESCHI CASTLE
Built 1275 as Orvieto's bulwark toward Chiusi, destroyed by Charles V at the end of the fifteenth century.
VIA CASSIA
Two Roman milestones and paved sections of the Cassia and Traiana Nova survive in the commune's fields.
BORGO INTATTO
Stone houses without plaster, two medieval gates, an urban grid that has held its shape since 1275.
PECORINO TOSCANO
The commune lies inside the Pecorino Toscano DOP production zone.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J10°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Ansano di Siena, 1 December
Why come
Allerona sits on a ridge between the Paglia valley and the Valdichiana, fifty kilometers southwest of Perugia and twenty north of Orvieto. The site was a Roman waystation called vicus Lerona, crossed by the Via Cassia and the Via Traiana Nova between Rome and Chiusi. Paved sections and two milestones still surface in the surrounding fields.
The medieval castle, built in 1275 by the Monaldeschi and Filippeschi families as Orvieto's northern bulwark, was destroyed at the end of the fifteenth century by Charles V and rebuilt afterward. In 1595 the community freed itself from Orvieto and the Monaldeschi rule and wrote its own statutes. The centro storico keeps its original urban fabric: stone houses without plaster, two surviving gates called Porta del Sole and Porta della Luna, and a small grid of lanes that has not changed shape in five hundred years.
The Sunday letter
Allerona is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Allerona comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Allerona in our articles
The best cheese towns within two hours of Perugia9 towns, Allerona among them.
10 towns whose festa falls in the dead of winter10 towns, Allerona among them.
The best hill towns in the province of Terni10 towns, Allerona among them.
Alternatives to Assisi: every hill town in Umbria, in one list39 towns, Allerona among them.
How to get there
From Rome (FCO), about 2h 21m by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 3 hours away.
By car from the centre of Perugia 1h 21m or Siena 1h 40m.
Coming by train into Perugia? Allerona is about 1h 17m away by road.
What to see
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Twelfth-century Romanesque church on the central square, renovated in neo-Gothic style 1892-1897 with terracotta pulpit and Viligiardi fresco cycle.
Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo
Twelfth-century church, the second pole of the medieval religious layout alongside Santa Maria Assunta.
Borgo medievale
Unplastered stone houses, two surviving gates Porta del Sole and Porta della Luna, fragments of the 1275 Monaldeschi walls.
Chiesa della Madonna dell'Acqua
Small octagonal rural church from the early 1700s, built beside a spring once held to be miraculous.
Sito archeologico di Sant'Ansano
Remains of two stone and brick funerary monuments from the second century AD, on the line of the old Roman road.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Allerona fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Living here
- Population 1,688
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Rome, 2 h 21 min drive
- Regional capital Perugia, 1 h 21 min drive
Common questions
- What is Allerona known for?
- Allerona is a stone borgo at 472 meters between the Paglia valley and the Valdichiana, an Orvieto outpost whose Monaldeschi castle fell to Charles V.
- Where is Allerona?
- Allerona is a comune in the province of Terni, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Allerona?
- Rome (FCO), about 2h 21m by car.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Allerona?
- About 1h 21m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Allerona?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Allerona?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Ansano di Siena, 1 December.
- Which other towns are like Allerona?
- Arrone, Bomarzo and Bassano in Teverina.
- How many people live in Allerona?
- 1,688 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 472 m
- Population: 1,688
- Surface area: 82.61 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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